Louisiana Tech hesitates, loses bowl game

Independence Bowl offers spot, then goes with Ohio

Louisiana Tech, with a 9-3 record and the top-rated offense in the country, isn’t going to a bowl game.

La Tech athletic director Bruce Van De Velde told The Associated Press that Independence Bowl organizers offered a spot in their game on Saturday afternoon, but the Bulldogs had other possible options still available to them. Van De Velde said he asked the Independence Bowl for more time to make a decision, but was told by game organizers that they couldn’t wait.

“Nobody turned a bowl bid down,” he said. “We asked for more time to vet two other opportunities that we had that we felt good about.”

Van De Velde said he told the Independence Bowl organizers: “Anybody you are going to get to replace us will be there on Sunday. Just give us time to evaluate these opportunities.”

The Independence Bowl had already invited Louisiana-Monroe from the Sun Belt.

An Independence Bowl spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The bowl ended up selecting Ohio University from the Mid-American Conference.

Louisiana Tech plays in the Western Athletic Conference, which is going away as a football conference next season and has only one bowl tie-in, with the Idaho Potato Bowl. The spot went to the league champion Utah State Aggies.